Dumb newbie question - length of a work?

[Szykneij]

Palmetto, do you have a classical music radio station in your area? Everyone here is trying to be helpful, but I think we've made this whole process too confusing and intimidating. My suggestion is, tune in to your local radio station or find one to listen to here:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,338.0.htmlil

Then just listen until you find something that catches your ear and explore it further. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I had never heard of Jack Gallagher until my local station played one of his pieces that blew me away. Oftentimes, if I hear something in my car that appeals to me, I jot it down so I don't forget about it and I check into later. The best part is, it won't cost you any money to find something that really grabs you.

[Palmetto]

The local public radio stations run several hours of classical content daily.  Unfortunately, that programming doesn't overlap with my commute.  I've run their Internet feed at work over the last couple of weeks, but I can't always stay put while a piece finishes.  It's a good start though.  If nothing else it's building my working vocabulary!

Thanks.

[Opus106]

Palmetto, do you have a classical music radio station in your area? Everyone here is trying to be helpful, but I think we've made this whole process too confusing and intimidating. My suggestion is, tune in to your local radio station or find one to listen to here:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,338.0.htmlil

Then just listen until you find something that catches your ear and explore it further.

Indeed a good idea. I say that to every person who is new to the music and does not know where to start. It was the way in which I began, and even today the way of radio station programming affects how I listen to my CDs, to some extent! Since I joined thread rather late, when it was in the middle of some another discussion, it never occurred to me to tell Palmetto about classical radio stations. However, it's good to know that he already listens to them.

[DavidRoss]

I've been "discovering" good music via the radio--especially in the car--for 40 years.  These days I'm lucky enough to live in the broadcast area of Sacramento's Capital Public Radio.  KXPR, the classical side, is available via streaming at http://www.capradio.org/stream/aplayer.aspx?stationid=2

[Palmetto]

It never occurred to me to try the stream from radio stations other than my local one.  Member loyalty, I guess.

[DavidRoss]

It never occurred to me to try the stream from radio stations other than my local one.  Member loyalty, I guess.

Here's a listing of several from around the world: http://classicalwebcast.com/

Some other sources of note are the Netherlands Radio 4 and their free album preview player plaatpaal: http://viertakt.radio4.nl/plaatpaal-overzicht/1/plaatpaal.html , NPR classical http://www.npr.org/music/genres/classical/ , and Rhapsody http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html and Last http://www.last.fm/music

[Opus106]

It never occurred to me to try the stream from radio stations other than my local one.  Member loyalty, I guess.

Also, about being tied down to the computer to listen to streams, you may want to download podcasts (I don't have anything in particular in mind, though a search might help) which you can then load onto an MP3 player.

[Palmetto]

It appears I'm too ignorant to use VLC.  Despite my earlier perceived success, I'm now unable open any .RAM content.  Since I'm finding multiple resouces that I'd really like to view, I'm going to wander through the application's tutorial and see if I can get it to do something with non-classical content.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my initial questions.  Let me get over this technological bump and I'll be back in touch.  In the meantime, rest assured that I understand classical music doesn't include 'Rock Me, Amadeus'.

[Superhorn]

   One problem with listening to different recordings of the same classical works is that you may get accustomed to the tempos of the first recording you hear of a piece, and when you hear different recordings, the others may seem either too fast or too slow to you. 
   But with repeated hearings of the other recordings, you can get accustomed to the ones taken at different speeds.
   This has happened to me more than a few times in the past. But after more than 40 years of listening since I was a teenager, I'm now much more flexible,and can tolerate different tempos.
   Other Bach works you should enjoy are the four Suites for orchestra, which are somewhat similar tot he Brandenburgs in that the different movements use different dance rhythms, but  there's no use of a solo instruments being accompanies by the larger group of instruments,except for the second suite,which features a solo flute.
   Or the Goldberg Variations ,which can vbe played either on harpsichord or piano , and are an elaborate theme followed by many different cvariations on that theme.  Supposedly , there was a harpsichordist by the name of Goldberg who was employed by a Russian diplomat in Germany to play for him at night while he suffered from insomnia, and Bach wrote this famous work for Goldberg to play for the insomniac diplomat.
   There is a famous recording by the legendary GlennGould from the 1950s which many consider the one to have,or the later digital remake from the early 80s,which not every one likes as much.
   Or you can hear on of the many on harpsichord.  Try Gould's famous recordings of the other Bach keyboard works too. 
   Or the famous mass in D Minor, which is for orchestra,chorus and vocal soloists, and is a setting of the Roman Catholic mass . The text of the mass has also been set by many other composers for orchestra,chorus and soloists,such as Mozart,Haydn and others.  This is a solemn and majestic work. 
   A good website for reliable CD recommendations in classicstoday.com, which has reviews every day of the latest recordings and access to earlier ones, plus recommeded recordings by expert critics. 
   Welcome to the wonderful world of classical music ! You'll never regret entering it ! 

[Palmetto]

I've gone through the first 15 or so of these:

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/listen/podcasts

but I haven't found anything that sets me on fire.  I've tried listening to one piece repeatedly, tried going through a list like this one, tried streaming public radio in the background while I work.  Nothing has offended me to the point of reaching for a mute / kill button, although I don't know if I like the metallic sound of a harpsichord.  But nothing is affecting me beyond just being pleasant sounds.  It's not work, but so far I've found nothing I've been moved to listen to a second time, much less spend money on.

[bhodges]

Palmetto, thanks for posting those Gardner Museum podcasts, which I didn't know about.

Maybe chamber music just isn't what you're looking for? Just for fun, see how this strikes you, a piece by Iannis Xenakis called Metastaseis 1953-54) for 61 musicians. The reason I mention it is that people with rock music backgrounds sometimes seem to gravitate toward his music. If you don't like it, no worries, but it's quite different from those Gardner concerts.

--Bruce

http://www.youtube.com/v/SZazYFchLRI

[Mirror Image]

What it sounds like to me is this initial poster doesn't want to make the effort in getting to know this music.

To the poster:

There's nothing wrong with asking people questions about the music or getting recommendations, but, in the end, you have to put in the time and research that is absolutely required to getting to know a piece of music. Apart of this comes from actually taking the time to listen to a piece of music. You don't like Bach, that's okay, I'm not a big fan either, but take note of all the suggestions that have been made to you. Listening to classical music isn't like listening to a "pop hit." It requires your attention both intellectually and emotionally. It also requires you to be patient. Sometimes it takes a specific movement to build up to its climax. You're very lucky in the regard that this forum is a valuable resource. You have people here that are encouraging you to take the necessary steps in order for you to enjoy this music. Classical music is some of the most remarkable music I've ever heard and it continues to leave me breathless not only in terms of its emotional/intellectual appeal, but also for its wide variety of styles and genres. It encompasses so much.

[Palmetto]

Brewski, that's chamber music?  I should have made that connection myself, I just didn't put the pieces together.

MI, I never said I don't like Bach.  I never said I like him either.  Right now I don't have any feelings one way or the other.  I'm listening to music two or three hours a day; I'm not sure how else to direct my efforts but I'm wide open for suggestions.  As to a movement building, I'm listening to entire pieces; I'm not stopping after a few minutes and moving on. 

Bluntly, what I don't want to do at this stage of interest is spend much money.  There seems to be a sufficient selection of music available on the web for free for me to be able to find something I like (although I admit to difficulties accessing some models of it; I'm spending time on technology I'd rather spend on the subject at hand.).  As I noted originally, I'm investigating a form of entertainment that is new to me; something I've heard about most of my life but never really heard.  I'll get to the selections others suggested, but there are a lot of concepts I don't understand yet.  Rhythm, keys, time, measures; the Wikipedia articles on these appear to have been written by musicians for musicians, and assume knowledge I don't yet have.  I'm trying to build a working vocabulary so I don't have another confusing moment like I did over the term 'dynamic'.

I'm in no hurry, but I'm also not going to bust my @$$.  I'm listening for entertainment, not working on a degree.  If I find something, great; if not, I'll at least know more than I did at the first of the year.

[ibanezmonster]

I'm in no hurry, but I'm also not going to bust my @$$.  I'm listening for entertainment, not working on a degree.  If I find something, great; if not, I'll at least know more than I did at the first of the year.

And this is a good attitude! 

[Mirror Image]

I'm in no hurry, but I'm also not going to bust my @$$.  I'm listening for entertainment, not working on a degree.  If I find something, great; if not, I'll at least know more than I did at the first of the year.

I think you're taking what I'm saying way out of context and a little over-the-top with your reply. What I'm saying to you is in order for you to have perhaps a better understanding of a piece of music is to read about that work and, more importantly, understand that composer's own history. Nobody is forcing you to like the music, all we can do is encourage you and hope that you find something that catches your ear. Until then, good luck finding it. Classical music for the novice can be very intimidating because it is so vast and spans centuries.

[ibanezmonster]

My little brother is trying to get into classical music as well. I'm always catching him reading one of my books about all of the composers, and he is always telling me stuff he has learned about them. 

He still seems to like Haydn and Stravinsky (at least, The Rite of Spring) most out of what he's heard. One day, he started playing something rhythmic stuff on the low keys of the piano, and I told him that if he thinks that sounds cool, you should try Bartok's 1st Piano Concerto. So, he listened to it and liked it.  (He also recently listened to Mahler's 5th and liked the opening!)

It's a slow process, and very hit-and-miss. I don't know how much he will like in 5 years, but simply listening to/learning about whatever out of boredom/curiosity/just doing it because it's there actually helps a lot, like what he's doing. That's how I learned to play guitar. 

[Mirror Image]

My little brother is trying to get into classical music as well. I'm always catching him reading one of my books about all of the composers, and he is always telling me stuff he has learned about them. 

He still seems to like Haydn and Stravinsky (at least, The Rite of Spring) most out of what he's heard. One day, he started playing something rhythmic stuff on the low keys of the piano, and I told him that if he thinks that sounds cool, you should try Bartok's 1st Piano Concerto. So, he listened to it and liked it.  (He also recently listened to Mahler's 5th and liked the opening!)

It's a slow process, and very hit-and-miss. I don't know how much he will like in 5 years, but simply listening to/learning about whatever out of boredom/curiosity/just doing it because it's there actually helps a lot, like what he's doing. That's how I learned to play guitar. 

This was basically where I was getting at in my post above. The only way to appreciate the music is to make the effort to understand it. If something really sounds interesting to you, then go read about the work's history and learn a bit more about the composer. This can only enhance your listening experience. If this poster finds reading unnecessary than good luck to him in finding out what works. I can only speak from my own experience about music and what worked for me, but there's no joking in the fact that the poster is going to need to be more patient. A lot of this music doesn't come right at you to begin with. Sometimes it takes days, months, or even years to appreciate a piece of music.

[mc ukrneal]

Brewski, that's chamber music?  I should have made that connection myself, I just didn't put the pieces together.

MI, I never said I don't like Bach.  I never said I like him either.  Right now I don't have any feelings one way or the other.  I'm listening to music two or three hours a day; I'm not sure how else to direct my efforts but I'm wide open for suggestions.  As to a movement building, I'm listening to entire pieces; I'm not stopping after a few minutes and moving on. 

Bluntly, what I don't want to do at this stage of interest is spend much money.  There seems to be a sufficient selection of music available on the web for free for me to be able to find something I like (although I admit to difficulties accessing some models of it; I'm spending time on technology I'd rather spend on the subject at hand.).  As I noted originally, I'm investigating a form of entertainment that is new to me; something I've heard about most of my life but never really heard.  I'll get to the selections others suggested, but there are a lot of concepts I don't understand yet.  Rhythm, keys, time, measures; the Wikipedia articles on these appear to have been written by musicians for musicians, and assume knowledge I don't yet have.  I'm trying to build a working vocabulary so I don't have another confusing moment like I did over the term 'dynamic'.

I'm in no hurry, but I'm also not going to bust my @$$.  I'm listening for entertainment, not working on a degree.  If I find something, great; if not, I'll at least know more than I did at the first of the year.

I had not appreciated quite where you were in your exploration of music. Here are a few websites that discuss the basics of music and music theory that you may find of use along the way:
http://neilhawes.com/sstheory/theory.htm
http://www.musiclearningworkshop.com/basic-music-theory-elements.html
http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/ (this is more about the different styles and eras as well as history about them and composers)
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/3477919/Study-Guide-for-Music-Appreciation (again, more about the periods, composers, but also some basic ideas in music that start in these periods and are used elsewhere)
http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/musicApprHSU.html (Point 6 has a number of websites that may be of use)

And sometimes, you just need to have a little fun...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7L02tCNi0I&feature=related

Hope that helps.

[bhodges]

Brewski, that's chamber music?  I should have made that connection myself, I just didn't put the pieces together.

Yes, those Gardner concerts are mostly works for small ensembles: duos, trios, quartets. (My hunch is that the performance space is small, like many concert spaces in museums, and a large orchestra wouldn't fit onstage.)

Anyway, maybe your taste just lies elsewhere, with larger works, maybe even opera. If you can get a media player installed, you won't have to spend any money at all. The Internet has tons of free stuff to listen to--and there's YouTube, of course.

Good luck, and hope you do discover something that appeals to you. The classical music universe is a rich one.

--Bruce

[Palmetto]

"If something really sounds interesting to you, then go read about the work's history and learn a bit more about the composer."

MI, I agree completely.  Nothing has really sounded interesting to me yet.

Brewski, I don't have problem with Windows Media Player with .MP3s, and I can easily load them on my .MP3 player.  What I could never get anything done with is .RAM files via either RealPlayer or VNC; frankly, I've given up.  I've found substitutes for the non-musical, academic content I wanted to hear that way, so I've stopped wasting time on what appears to be a non-portable niche format.  I'm going to look at Amazon this weekend and see how much they're charging for CDs.  Of course, I'll use the link from here so the site will get its cut.